With hot stone massage, basalt stones are heated in water and placed at specific locations on the body or moved on the skin. Marble stones cooled in ice water are frequently used in hot stone sessions both for contrast and for the therapeutic value of cooling tissues.
Hot stones may be integrated into Asian massage forms such as Thai and shiatsu by moving them along the meridian or sen lines. They can be used with reflexology by stimulating the points on the feet or hands; with lomi lomi to create heated flowing strokes; and most commonly, with Swedish massage as a tool. Ideally, hot stones are used in such a seamless way that they blend into whatever form is being used, adding the comforting, grounding, therapeutic, and penetrating qualities of heat.
Anyone who has impaired sensitivity to heat and cold, such as a person with diabetic neuropathy, is not a good candidate to receive hot stone massage; it is of critical importance that your partner be able to accurately assess if a stone is too hot.
Any inflammation, such as bursitis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or autoimmune disorders that produce symptoms of redness, heat, and swelling, contraindicate the use of hot stones, but using cold stones may feel refreshing and may help reduce inflammation.
Use of hot stones should be avoided for those with significant cardiovascular disease such as arteriosclerosis, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a recent heart attack, blood clots (thrombosis), or multiple strokes, since heat increases circulation and might overtax the circulatory system or cause a clot to move through the system, which can be very dangerous.
Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and skin irritation symptoms may be intensified by application of hot stones. It is inadvisable to bring a pregnant woman’s core temperature above its normal level, as damage to the fetus may occur, so the use of many or large placement stones is contraindicated during pregnancy, although limited use of hot stones as tools is acceptable.
When in doubt about whether the use of hot stones is appropriate for your partner, it may be wise to obtain the approval of your partner’s physician.
Young children are often so sensitive to heat that a warm stone session would be more appropriate for them than a hot stone massage. Some elderly people may lack the sensitivity to feel when a stone might be burning them, and their skin can be fragile, so warm stones would be a better choice for them as well.
Hot stone massage involves the expense of purchasing stones, a heating unit, and other implements and requires more maintenance and cleanup than most other forms of massage, but its benefits outweigh the cost and inconvenience.
The stones most commonly used for hot stone massage are unpolished natural basalt stones available from many suppliers. It is a good idea to purchase stones from a reputable provider rather than finding river rocks yourself, as the suppliers make sure the stones they sell are basalt and therefore are unlikely to crack or break when they are heated. For hot stone massage, you will require the following, at a minimum:
• Ten to twelve small, flat placement “toe stones”
• Eight to twelve small palm-working stones (about 1.5–2” x 3–3.5” [3.8–5.1 x 7.6–8.9 cm])
• Eight to twelve mid-size palm-working stones (about 2.5–3” x 4” [6.4–7.6 x 10.2 cm])
• Four to eight large placement stones (about 3.5” x 5” [8.9 x 12.7 cm])
You will find contact information for suppliers of stones in the Resources section of this book. Some forms of hot stone massage use polished gemstones in the colors of the chakras to place on those positions (see the “Chakra Sequence” section in chapter 4), and if you enjoy working with stones energetically, you may want to add some of these stones to your collection. Suppliers also have stone tools, such as pointed stones and polished marble stones for cold use, and over time you may want to collect some of these to vary your hot stone massage abilities.
WASH, DRY, OIL, AND BAKE THE STONES
When you receive your stones, wash them in warm water with dishwashing liquid, rinse them, and allow them to dry. Then lightly oil them with a non-nut-based oil, such as safflower, canola, or olive oil; this is because some people are allergic to nut oil. After you have oiled the stones, place them in a 180°F (82°C) oven for two or three hours or bake them on top of a woodstove. This process is like seasoning a cast-iron pan, filling in and smoothing out the pores in the stones. Your stones are now ready to be placed in an electric skillet (see “Setting Up the Session”) with water and used for massage.
Many companies that sell stones also sell hot-stone heating units, which are essentially electric roasters. An electric skillet is less expensive than a roaster, heats the stones more quickly, and because it is shallower, reduces the likelihood you will burn yourself on the edge as you remove stones from the unit. Hot stones are never heated in a microwave but are always heated in water, which conducts a set amount of heat quickly and evenly.
You may already have the other accessories you’ll need, such as several hand towels, ideally in light colors or white, a handkerchief, a meat thermometer, an optional eye pillow, and a pitcher. You will need a table on which to place your skillet, towels, pitcher, and lubricant.
LUBRICATE STONES
Many people feel that oil is the best lubricant to use with stones, but any relatively slick massage lotion will work as well. Lotion will not build up on your stones if you wash them after each use, so the type of lubricant is really a personal preference. You may want to include some essential oils with the oil or massage lubricant you are using, such as lavender for relaxation. Orange or sandalwood may be used as a muscle relaxant or soothing agent. Use essential oil in your lubricants sparingly; the heat of the stones delivers the properties of the oils more strongly, so a drop or two in your oil should be plenty. You may place oil or lubricant in one or two conveniently placed bowls, or you may want to get a lotion dispenser that you can wear in a holster for dispensing lubricant; you’ll have your hands full with the stones.
BE SAFE AND SECURE
The space where you set up to do hot stone massage can have any kind of flooring, but if the floor is tile, hardwood, or vinyl, you will need to place a rug that is a couple of feet (about 60–90 cm) wider than the massage table in each dimension in the space. This will muffle the sound of any stones you drop or that your partner knocks off the table during a session. There is nothing quite like the loud crack of a stone hitting a hard floor to disrupt relaxation!
Place your stone table close to an electrical outlet; you do not want to risk tripping over an extension cord while giving a hot stone massage. The stone table should be at the side of the massage table, about three feet (91 cm) away, so that you can avoid moving a stone over your partner’s face or head when you are placing it or removing it from his body. Stones and your hands may be wet or slick with oil and dropping one on your partner’s head or face certainly will not contribute to his relaxation!
Place the electric skillet on the table, with a light-colored hand towel or thick dish towel in the skillet, covering the entire bottom and partway up the sides of the pan. Using a light-colored towel will make it easier to see and select the particular stone you want to use as you are massaging. Place your stones on their edges, lining them up in whatever order is logical to you. Place the little toe stones in the handkerchief and leave the ends of the handkerchief out of the water.
About fifteen minutes before you plan to use your stones, fill the skillet with about 2 inches (5.1 cm) of water and turn the skillet to a warm setting; then place the meat thermometer in the water so that you can read the temperature without moving it. Have the skillet lid on the pan while you are heating the stones, but once they reach their target temperature of 115°F–120°F (46°C–49°C), remove the cover for the duration of the hot stone session. Refill the pitcher with cold water and have it close at hand; it will serve to cool down your stones if they become too hot during a session. Place at least four hand towels close by, with one spread on the table to receive the stones you may not want to return to the skillet. Having a towel in the skillet and on the table will muffle the sounds the stones would make when placed on metal or wood. Some people like to have a slotted spoon to remove stones from the water.
Your best thermometers are your hands, at least at the beginning of a session. When you remove a stone from the water, it should be almost too hot to hold. However, a good guideline is that you should be able to comfortably hold a stone in your hand for more than five seconds. As you handle the hot stones during the massage, your hands will become desensitized to the heat to some degree.
The temperature of the stones in the skillet may change during the time you are massaging, so be sure to have towels ready in case you pick up a stone that’s too hot to handle. It’s best to have the stones a little too hot to place on your partner’s body; you will gradually learn to manage your stones by removing ones from the pan you will be using in a few minutes to reach a comfortable temperature by the time you need them. Stones that you will be using in your hands may be hotter than those which will be stationary on your partner’s body. Learning your individual stones’ heat-holding qualities and your heating element’s characteristics comes with practice and will help you maintain a graceful flow in a hot stone session.
If you want to use some cool marble stones, you may place them in a shallow dish with ice water or water with ice cubes on the stone table. Alternatively, you may place them on the windowsill of the room where you are working in the winter and they will usually feel cool enough. To avoid dripping cold water if you use a bowl of ice water, place the cold stones on a hand towel before transferring them to your partner’s body. Have your oil or lubricant conveniently placed to dip your hands into it or dispense it one-handed from a lotion dispenser.
A spa-type hot stone massage consists primarily of placing the stones on energy centers of the body. The weight and heat of the stones can have a profound effect even without the additional use of stones as tools in your hands. Rub all stones between your palms before you place them anywhere on your partner’s body or use them in your hands to determine if they are an appropriate temperature.
The placed stones promote relaxation and grounding with their weight and heaviness. If your partner is prone to anxiety and tension, has a feeling of flying in a lot of different directions, or is fidgety, placing stones has much the same effect as swaddling a baby. There is a certain security and comfort in being held or having pressure resting on one’s body.
1. PLACE STONES BENEATH THE BODY
You may choose to have your partner lie on stones and place them on top of his body. Some people are not comfortable lying on stones, in which case it is fine to leave them out. If you do choose to place stones under your partner, have him sit up from a supine position to place them. Place two of your largest, relatively flat, stones on each side of his vertebral column at his waist level and just above, allowing about 1 inch (2.5 cm) between them so that his spine will not be on the stones. Place two of your larger working stones above the large placement stones so that there are three on each side of his lower back (photo A). Place a hand towel over the stones and support his back as he lies back onto them. A pillow under the lower thigh/knee area will take strain off his lower back.
2. PLACE STONES ON THE CHAKRA CENTERS
Starting at your partner’s head, place a toe stone on the middle of his forehead, just above his eyebrows on the third eye chakra point (see “Chakra Sequence” in chapter 4). This is an interesting stone placement and it often will interrupt the receiver’s train of thought. Frequently, a receiver will stop talking mid-sentence as you replace the forehead stone with a warmed one during a session.
Place two more toe stones on your partner’s cheekbones. If you have a rice-filled eye pillow, placing it over his eyes and the stones will help keep the cheekbone stones in place. The next stone to place is the throat chakra stone, which should fit in the hollow above your partner’s sternum, at the base of his neck.
You may place the heart chakra stone, a medium-size working stone, on top of the sheet covering your partner’s chest, with the top of the sheet folded down over the stone so that it cannot slide toward your partner’s throat. Place the solar plexus chakra stone, another medium-size working stone, over the sheet at the base of your partner’s sternum, at the top of his abdomen.
Place the sacral chakra stone over the sheet just below your partner’s navel. This may be a large placement stone or a medium-size working stone; ask your partner about the weight if you use a large placement stone. Place two small palm-size working stones at each groin; these are about as close as you can come to placement on the root chakra and correspond to the ovaries in women (photo B).
3. PUT STONES IN HANDS AND ON FEET
Place a small to medium-size working stone in each of your partner’s hands and take the handkerchief of toe stones to the foot of the table, placing the stones between all of his toes. An optional placement is to put a pair of slightly cooled medium-size working stones on the pillow supporting your partner’s knees, just behind his knees; this is a tender area, so it’s especially important that the stones not be too hot.
It is important to realize that the small toe stones cool down very rapidly, while the larger stones retain heat for up to ten minutes on top of the body and slightly longer if they are underneath. You may want to replace the toe, throat, and facial stones periodically during a massage session.
You could end the massage at this point after the stones begin to cool or continue the session using stones to perform Swedish massage strokes on your supine partner or turning him over and placing stones on his back.
Although much of the time in a hot stone massage you will be applying the stones directly to your partner’s skin, for at least half of the massage time you will use your hands directly on him. Start massaging each area of his body with your hands to spread lubricant and to acquaint yourself with the quality and tightness of the tissues. Then use the hot stones as tools to enhance your ability to soften and relax the areas you have determined need them the most. Because you will be handling the stones, your hands will feel hot, and at times your partner may not be able to determine whether it is your heated hand or a stone that is moving over his body.
You can hold a hot stone in different ways when you use it as a working stone. The most superficial stroke with a hot stone, and perhaps the most commonly used, is to place the stone flat in your palm and use it as though your palm is simply thicker and hotter. Effleurage is the easiest technique to use with hot stones, as they fit easily in the palms and you can curl your fingers around them without difficulty. Lifting or spreading strokes are also well suited to stone use. You may push a stone lying flat on the tissues with the heel of your hand, your fingers, or the thumbs and index fingers of both hands. You may turn a stone up on its edge and use the broad edge like a scraper; this move is useful for working more deeply in areas such as the feet, which are accustomed to considerable pressure. You may also use the narrow edge of a stone just lateral to the spine or along the medial edge of a shoulder blade.
Integrating the use of hot stones in a basic massage session (photo A) requires practice. Over time, you’ll get to know your stones and their cooling rates and energetic properties, which ones fit your hands well, which are stable to place on certain areas of the body, and which are very smooth or have some useful texture. Although the distinction is made here between placement stones and working stones, in practice there is a flow between them. Since the working stones can be hotter than those you place on your partner’s body, as a working stone begins to cool down you can place it to capture the remaining heat. Follow your intuition regarding placement of “spent” working stones and remove them as they lose their heat. They will remain noticeably warm for five or ten minutes, depending on their size.
1. BEGIN WITH THE HAND AND ARM
The hand, which is accustomed to temperature changes, is much more forgiving than more sensitive or touchy areas of the body. Remove the stone resting in your partner’s hand and use effleurage from his fingertips all the way up and around his shoulder to spread lubricant and to get a sense of tight areas in his hands, arms, and shoulders. After you spread the lubricant, use two small palm stones to effleurage the same area. As you explore your partner’s arms and find tight spots and knots, you may want to pick up one of your small working stones and hold it on the tight area for a few breaths, compressing with the heat and weight of the stone to soften and release knots.
2. USE STONES BETWEEN THE SPINE AND SHOULDER BLADE
When you take your partner’s arm across his chest and reach under his back to the medial border of his scapula, have a stone in your palm to apply firm friction along the medial edge of his shoulder blade (photo B). This will enhance the upper back stretch you are encouraging by rocking or pressing your partner’s elbow away from you and across his chest. The stone will distract and therefore soften the upper back muscles. You may leave the stone between his scapula and spine when you return his arm to the table to continue generating heat for the upper back muscles. Remember to place another stone in your partner’s hand after you have finished massaging his arm and hand.
Place Large Stones to Relax the Chest
If you notice that your partner’s shoulders are elevated above the massage table rather than resting easily on it, you may want to place a large stone on each side of his chest on his pectoral muscles after you massage them with or without a working stone. Place them within the envelope of the turned-down sheet to assist in holding them in place and maintaining their heat as long as possible. The weight and heat of these large stones on your partner’s chest may gradually encourage his shoulders to sink to the table surface, opening his chest and relieving associated upper back discomfort.
Follow the Swedish system for massaging your partner’s head and neck. With your palms facing down, bring your thumbs together in the middle of his forehead. Linger there with light pressure for a breath and then perform a few spreading strokes all the way out to where his cheek meets the front of his ear. Bring your fingertips together under his chin and sweep your hands slowly up the side of his face to the top of his head a few times, which works like a face lift. Bring your fingers to the side of his nose and trace below his cheekbones out to the front of his ear.
Bring the backs of your wrists to the table surface so that your fingertips curve upward at the base of your partner’s skull (the occipital ridge) and apply circular friction back and forth across the ridge with your hands mirroring each other.
Apply Friction to the Lateral Jaw
If your partner holds tension in his jaw muscles, use the toe stones to relax the muscles that contribute to TMJ (temporomandibular joint) problems and related headaches. Use small stones in both hands and apply circular friction at the angle of his jaw on the lower lateral face to release the jaw. Several short, firm, downward “stripping” strokes on the masseter muscle at the angle of the jaw can lengthen the muscle and reduce tightness from grinding teeth, dental procedures, or stress.
Relieve Sinus Pain with Small Stones
You can ease sinus pain and congestion by applying static pressure with small stones at the sides of your partner’s nose at the crease and below the iris of each eye just below the cheekbone (photo C). Another option is to use sweeping strokes with warm or cold stones or alternating a few strokes with a warm stone, followed by a few with a cold one from the lateral nose to the ear just below the cheekbone to address the sinus acupressure points. Use hot or cold stones to apply circular friction on the temples to relieve headache discomfort.
4. RELEASE NECK TENSION WITH HOT STONES
Before using stones on your partner’s neck, palpate his neck muscles with circular friction at the base of his skull and up and down the muscles on each side of his spine with Swedish massage to acquaint your hands with areas of held tension. Then use two of the smallest working stones to perform between three and five spreading strokes across the occiput and effleurage up and down the back of his neck, staying off the vertebrae.
You may rotate your partner’s head to the right and apply long strokes with a hot stone in your right hand from just below his left ear out to almost the tip of his shoulder and back up, repeating the stroke a few times (photo D). Switch the stone for a warmer one before repeating the strokes on the left side of his neck. With his head in a neutral position and a stone in each of your palms, strongly press the stones into the area where his shoulders meet the side of his neck and lean toward his feet. Hold the compression with the stones for at least three breaths.
5. REMOVE STONES TO MASSAGE THE CHEST
After you have moved to the head of the table and massaged your partner’s head, neck, and upper shoulders, the large stones that you put on his chest will have transferred their heat and weight. Remove them and use a medium-size working stone in each hand to apply effleurage from the center of his upper chest outward (photo E); then come all the way around his shoulder joints and up the back of his neck a few times. You can add placement stones on his chest again if tightness is still apparent in his pectoral muscles. You may also lean your forearm on one of the chest placement stones for a few breaths to enhance the effect of the stone’s weight, but check in and make sure your partner does not experience any numbness or tingling in his arm or hand as you apply the weight.
6. MOVE TO THE LOWER BODY
Moving to the lower body, first remove any stones that may still be between your partner’s toes or behind his knees. Spread lubricant on his leg and foot and then use your largest working stones to effleurage his legs and thighs. Apply circular and spreading strokes on his thighs and spreading strokes from his shin down toward the table on his calves. Use a small working stone to apply firm cross-fiber and circular friction all around his knee. Moving the edge of a stone back and forth just below the kneecap (patella) addresses the tendons for all the quadriceps muscles. Bringing your partner’s foot onto the table surface with his heel close to his buttocks, begin to lean and rock his leg away as you massage the lateral thigh. Use a hot stone to glide up and down his thigh, sensitively encouraging it to move farther across his opposite leg, while applying effleurage strokes or a series of compressions. This will tend to create length in the posterior pelvis and a feeling of flexibility and space in the hip.
Massage the Hip and Hamstrings with Stones
With your partner’s leg leaning away from you with one hand, you can use a stone in the other hand to massage around his hip joint and into the lateral buttock muscles while they are in a stretched position, further opening the hip (photo F). Depending on your partner’s flexibility and your relative sizes, you may be able to face the head of the table, kneeling near his hip, and place his foot on your shoulder. You can then lubricate and warm his hamstrings with several effleurage strokes. With a mediumsize working stone in each hand you can work both sides of these hamstring muscles by gliding or compressing with the stones as you lean forward to keep his knee moving closer to his chest. This not only begins to address the ham-strings but stretches the lower back as well.
When you release your partner’s leg, rotate his knee out to the side and place his foot near his opposite knee, with a pillow or your knee underneath if his leg does not rest easily on the table. Apply effleurage strokes from the medial knee to the groin first with your palms, then with a medium-size working stone, and use circular friction with the stone around the medial knee. You will have addressed the hip joint in the various planes it can move with these stretches, which will lubricate the joint and may improve its range of motion.
7. REMOVE STONES AND TRANSITION TO PRONE SEQUENCE
Remove all the placement stones, remembering those that may be under the sheet or under your partner’s body. You can remove stones from under the body in three ways. The first way is to ask your partner to sit up. The second is to reach over his torso and rotate his upper body toward you and push the stones out from under him before you roll him onto his back again. The third way is to get him to roll onto his side away from you and remove the stones before he rolls all the way over to a prone (face-down) position.
The weight of large stones placed on the back, combined with the heat that sinks into the back’s hard-working postural muscles, melts muscle tension and allows the receiver to release those muscles. There’s no need to hold those stones. The use of stones as heated tools on chronically tight hamstrings, gluteal muscles, and back muscles can provide much-needed relief from discomfort due to overuse.
1. PLACE STONES ON BACK
When your partner is in the prone position, place the largest stone on his sacrum. Then place three large stones on each side of his vertebral column—up to a level between his scapulas—and one stone in each of his palms (photo A). Undrape and lubricate one of his legs, from the toes to the hip. Follow by using medium-size stones on the entire backs of his legs. Hold the top of his foot in one hand while you work deeply with a stone on the sole of his foot.
2. MASSAGE THE THIGH, CALF, AND BUTTOCK
Apply several superficial spreading strokes on your partner’s thigh and calf muscles and figure eights of effleurage taking in both his leg and thigh (photo B). You may either massage the buttock area as an extension of the thigh, performing circular friction around the hip joint and from the sacrum to the hip, or address the gluteal area and hips as an extension of the back. If you place heated stones on the soles of the feet as you complete the massage of the leg, it will feel good to your partner, reminiscent of walking on a hot beach, but the stones tend to slip off onto the table. You may find you have a couple of stones whose shape allows them to remain more securely on the feet. Tucking the sheet around the feet to hold the stones in place can also help secure the stones.
3. SOOTHE THE SOLES WITH HEAT
Cradling your partner’s foot in your left hand, use first a small stone held flat in your right hand with moderate pressure between the heel and ball of his foot. You may then turn the stone and work the sole and arch with a scraping motion using the edge of the stone to work more deeply (photo C).
4. LENGHTEN BACK MUSCLES WITH STONES
Remove the stones you placed on your partner’s back, tapping each with a smaller stone if you like to release energy and create a pleasant vibration under the resting stone. Spread lubricant on his entire back from the head of the table. Use medium-size working stones to apply several long, flowing, gentle effleurage strokes from his shoulders to his hips, back up and around his shoulders, and up the sides of his neck (photo D). Stand to one side of the table and perform pushing strokes from the vertebral column to your partner’s side, gradually moving toward his shoulders from his waistline (see photo F, page 72). You can use a stone in each hand, or use both of your hands on a larger placement stone for lateral strokes on the back.
5. BROADEN THE UPPER BACK
When you arrive at the area of the scapulas, just move the stone or stones from your partner’s spine to the medial edge of the scapula, as going over the edge of the scapula in this direction might be uncomfortable. If your partner’s scapulas are close to the spine, you may want to turn the stone on its edge and use it in a scraper position. Lighten the pressure at the border of the scapula and continue the stroke at an angle up toward the point of your partner’s shoulder (photo E). You may use a small stone to apply friction around the borders of the scapula and along the crest of his hip.
6. REPEAT SEQUENCE ON OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BACK
Undrape the other leg and repeat the entire sequence on the other side.
7. FINISH WITH EFFLEURAGE AND A CONTACT HOLD
Return to the head of the table and apply several long effleurage strokes, pressing toward your partner’s feet and holding at his upper hips for a couple of breaths to lengthen his spine. Then begin moving the stones in opposite directions along the length of his back, moving your hands quickly in a longitudinal friction stroke and staying well clear of his spine. After one or two more connecting effleurage strokes without stones, place your hands lightly on your partner’s back for a closing contact hold, allowing three to five breaths to elapse before breaking contact.
AFTER-SESSION CARE OF STONES
When you have completed a hot stone session, you will need to remove the stones from the water in the electric skillet. If you leave stones in water for extended periods, the same iron content in the stones that gives them some electromagnetic qualities will frequently cause veins of rust to appear on the surface of the stones, disrupting their smoothness and possibly creating rust stains on the handkerchief and hand towel you have in the skillet with them. It is ideal to remove all the stones from the skillet and then wash the skillet and place a clean hand towel inside it. Clean the stones in a sink in hot, soapy water and allow them to dry on a towel before transferring them back into the skillet. Make sure the skillet is unplugged and the cover is dry and back in place to protect your stones from dust and dirt until you are ready to use them again.
Warning! Dizziness May Ensue
At the end of a hot stone massage, your partner may experience lightheadedness or feel dizzy when he stands, especially if he normally has low blood pressure. Encourage him to get up slowly and be there to assist if necessary. It’s a good idea for him to drink a big glass of water and remain seated until wooziness passes. Scheduling a hot stone massage before work or strenuous physical activity is not ideal, so try to give your partner a hot stone session when you know he can rest and relax afterward.
